Parisian sparkle in the meadow: Le Pré aux clercs charms Wexford

Rarity and variety are Wexford watchwords. From the ivory designs and rip-snorting passions of Mascagni’s Guglielmo Ratcliff we moved on to the vivid colours and effervescent joy of Ferdinand Hérold’s Le Pré aux clercs. Hérold is now better known for his Zampa overture or the ballet La Fille mal gardée, butLe Pré aux clercs (The Clerks’ Meadow) was hugely successful in its day. From its 1840 première, when it inaugurated the new Salle Favart, it notched up its 1600th performance at Paris’ Opéra Comique in 1949.